A major new report has called for gender issues to be included in PSHE
curriculum as too many schools are "falling short" in support for
trans pupils

The high rate of bullying among transgender pupils is leading to poor attendance rates and an inability to learn effectively, but many schools lack the guidance to best address the issue, a major new report has revealed.

Research suggests that support and provision for trans children in schools often "falls short", with some schools simply ignoring the issue or labelling the transgender student as the "problem".

According to Susie Green, chair of Mermaids, a charity which provides support for families of children with gender identity issues, in some cases, schools have refused to acknowledge a change of name or gender.

This is depsite it being unlawful, under the Equality Act 2010, for schools to "treat pupils less favourably on the grounds of gender reassignment".

In other schools, access to education psychologists and parent support advisors, was "limited".

"Head teachers desperately want to do the right thing, but they need to see it in black and white."

Juno Roche

The report, the first of its kind on transgender issues by the UK Parliament, has made over 30 recommendations to Government, calling on them to take action to ensure full equality for trans people.

In regards to schooling, the report said more needs to be done to ensure sufficient support is in place for trans pupils and their families.

It recommends training for all teachers and the inclusion of gender issues as part of the Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE) curriculum.

Today's report cites previous research by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) which found that 91 per cent of trans boys and 66 per cent of trans girls experienced harassment or bullying at school.

The EHRC stated that this has led to many gender-variant children "hiding their identity to the detriment of their self-esteem" with many looking to "leave school as soon as possible".

Recommendations from today's report also include guidance issued to schools in order to help them address areas where gender divisions could prove a challenge for trans pupils.

"There has been no guidance from central Government," she said. "Head teachers desperately want to do the right thing, but they need to see it in black and white."

"The curriculum at the moment is heteronormative, cis-gendered and mainly white."

Juno Roche

Ms Roche – who will be holding a round-table discussion on the issue in the summer – said that the trouble stemmed from "grey areas" that often left schools "paralysed with fear" over how to deal with issues over toilets, competitive sport and uniforms.

She added that, while inclusion on the PSHE curriculum would help, it didn't go far enough.

"The curriculum at the moment is heteronormative, cis-gendered and mainly white. We need to embed gender variant issues across the curriculum.

"The agenda has to be about aspiration. The agenda has been about horror stories up untill now. But for us to change that narrative we have to have a different agenda. Let’s celebrate trans identities."

Speaking to the report's authors, Nicky Morgan, the Education Secretary, admitted that there were "clearly some areas where a lot of improvement [was] needed".

Ms Morgan added that the Government was "looking at initial teacher training" in order to address teacher confidence in dealing with gender issues.